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* Net profit after royalty 1.9 bln dhs vs f'cast 2.24 bln dhs
* 2015 profit 1.95 bln dhs
(Recasts with profit fall, adds detail, context throughout)
By David French
DUBAI, Oct 26 (Reuters) - United Arab Emirates-based telecoms operator Etisalat
Etisalat, which directly and indirectly operates in about 18 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, made a net profit after royalty payment - or tax - of 1.9 billion dirhams ($517.4 million) in the three months to Sept. 30, it said in a statement on Wednesday.
It did not provide a comparative profit figure. Its financial statement for the corresponding period of last year stated earnings of 1.95 billion dirhams.
In August, Etisalat said it had completed the sale of its 92.3 percent shareholding in Sudanese telecoms firm Canar to Sudan's Bank of Khartoum, receiving 349.6 million dirhams in return for the stake.
The firm said adjusted consolidated net profit for the sale of Canar meant their quarterly earnings rose 16 percent year on year, although the statement did not state how this figure was calculated.
A spokesman for Etisalat did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Wednesday's earnings missed the average forecast of three analysts polled by Reuters, who expected a quarterly profit of 2.24 billion dirhams.
Consolidated revenue for the group gained 3 percent to 13.2 billion dirhams, led by a 4 percent increase in revenue from domestic operations.
Subscriber numbers at group level reached 162 million, the firm said without providing a comparative figure. It noted active subscribers in the UAE rose 5 percent year on year.
($1 = 3.6724 UAE dirham)
(Editing by Susan Thomas and Alexandra Hudson) ((davidj.french@thomsonreuters.com; +971 4 362 5864; Reuters Messaging: davidj.french.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
* 2015 profit 1.95 bln dhs
(Recasts with profit fall, adds detail, context throughout)
By David French
DUBAI, Oct 26 (Reuters) - United Arab Emirates-based telecoms operator Etisalat
Etisalat, which directly and indirectly operates in about 18 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, made a net profit after royalty payment - or tax - of 1.9 billion dirhams ($517.4 million) in the three months to Sept. 30, it said in a statement on Wednesday.
It did not provide a comparative profit figure. Its financial statement for the corresponding period of last year stated earnings of 1.95 billion dirhams.
In August, Etisalat said it had completed the sale of its 92.3 percent shareholding in Sudanese telecoms firm Canar to Sudan's Bank of Khartoum, receiving 349.6 million dirhams in return for the stake.
The firm said adjusted consolidated net profit for the sale of Canar meant their quarterly earnings rose 16 percent year on year, although the statement did not state how this figure was calculated.
A spokesman for Etisalat did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Wednesday's earnings missed the average forecast of three analysts polled by Reuters, who expected a quarterly profit of 2.24 billion dirhams.
Consolidated revenue for the group gained 3 percent to 13.2 billion dirhams, led by a 4 percent increase in revenue from domestic operations.
Subscriber numbers at group level reached 162 million, the firm said without providing a comparative figure. It noted active subscribers in the UAE rose 5 percent year on year.
($1 = 3.6724 UAE dirham)
(Editing by Susan Thomas and Alexandra Hudson) ((davidj.french@thomsonreuters.com; +971 4 362 5864; Reuters Messaging: davidj.french.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
